I made a chicken and chorizo paella last night. It was incredible. My friend believes that Paellas should be illegal when made without seafood. She tasted it with disbelief.” This is really good. It tastes like Paella.” She commented while enjoying the renaissance of paella in her mouth.

A bit About Paella

Paella is a Spanish dish that originated in Valencia, Spain. This area was known for its abundance of rice. The people of Valencia would make this dish from other readily available ingredients such as tomatoes, onions, snails and sometimes rabbit or duck. A pinch of saffron was added to add color. This dish was made by the men that spent their days working outside. The workers would make the “Paella” and everyone would use their spoon to dig into the huge colorful pan of ingredients.

Meaning of Paella

There are a few beliefs about the origin of the word “Paella”.
Some say Paella comes from the Latin word “patella” which means pan. Paella is also associated with the Arabic word for leftovers ” baquiya” since people would create the Paella using leftovers. Some claim that Paella comes from the spanish words “por ella” meaning for her. Handsome field workers would serve Paella to their lovers while chanting Spanish love songs. Oh! Sorry, that is the romanticist foodie in me, letting my imagination go wild.

Paella Pans

Paella is made in a stainless steel, carbon steel or iron pan. All paella pans have the same distinctive shape, slightly flat with two loop handles, one on each side. Paella is known for its aromatic rice and it’s assortment of seafood from shrimps to mussels and of course chorizo, the flavorful sausage often made with paprika.

Here is the recipe that I used. I bought the chorizo at Trader Joe’s and it doesn’t have M.S.G or other preservatives.
I used Arborio rice, the same rice that I use for risotto. Unfortunately, I don’t have a Paella pan so I used a regular pot.